Iraqi PM releases records of alleged rape victim

BAGHDAD, Feb 21 (Reuters) US military doctors who examined a Sunni woman who accused Iraqi police of raping her found no evidence of any attack, according to a copy of their report released by the prime minister's office today.

Maliki's office has rejected the rape accusations against the Shi'ite-dominated police, saying ''known parties'' are trying to discredit a new security crackdown in Baghdad that aims to sweep Sunni Arab and Shi'ite gunmen from the streets.

The medical report was from the Ibn Sina Hospital, the main US military hospital in Baghdad's international Green Zone, which also treats Iraqi civilians.

''No vaginal lacerations or obvious injuries,'' was scrawled in English and then repeated in Arabic on the single-page document that was titled ''Theatre trauma nursing record''. The finding was repeated again at the bottom in Arabic script. The patient's name was blanked out.

''We don't know how the prime minister's office got it but we would not normally comment on the specifics of a medical report. We follow the same privacy rules as in the States,'' US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said.

Sunni officials have condemned the alleged incident, which comes amid worsening bloodshed between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunnis. Sunni leaders have repeatedly accused Shi'ite militias of infiltrating the police to attack their community.

In a statement yesterday, Maliki's office said a probe of the incident showed there was no evidence of rape. The prime minister had commended those officers accused, it added.

The 20-year-old woman told reporters that several police commandos had raided her house in Baghdad, saying they were looking for weapons. She said they took her away and later raped her. It was unclear where or when the alleged rape occurred.

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